Have you ever felt that there just wasn’t enough hours in the day? Tired of going out to eat every evening? No worries, I hope I am here to help with some easy, quick and deliciosa dinner meals for you and your family!  My name is Jess and I am extremely excited to write my first blurb for the site! For some time now I had a few friends reach out to me in regards to starting a blog or posting recipes to help others in the kitchen.  Just a bit about myself, I am a 30 year old full time everything! I work as a financial analyst for a corporate real estate company, I am a new mom to a 5 month old baby girl, and I am a business owner of a catering company Simply Deliciosa. People always ask me, how do I handle all of this at the same time?? The answer: I don’t know! But it’s doable! Sometimes I wonder if there are enough hours in the day to work, spend quality time with my spouse and baby, still put a hot meal on the table, make sure the house is tidy (enough), and still let my imagination run wild with ideas for catering and event planning. My answer, when there’s a will, there’s a way! Although I am a dedicated worker to Corporate America, I do try to take a few moments of my day to plan out the rest of my evening, including dinner ideas and timelines needed.

Once I come up with an idea, or two, or three, of what I want to make for dinner, obviously a grocery list is necessary. Luckily I have an amazing spouse who helps me either get the groceries, or picks up the baby while I get the groceries. For any single parents, this may seem like a bit too much to tackle on both. My answer? Maybe visit the grocery store on your lunch break or have a few ideas set aside for the week and do major shopping on the weekend. A few other ideas to consider when coming up with meals, marinate tomorrow’s meals today and/or  make enough for leftovers. Lay out all of the ingredients that you’ll need on the counter for the day along with your recipe – It’s one less thing you’ll need to worry about wasting time on.

Now, I’m no chef! I just love to cook and try new things. My mother is an amazing cook who learned from her mother and I learned from her. So some recipes that I hold on to are from my mother, some are just from experimenting, while others are a combination of recipes I find online or via smart phone apps.

Lately, I’ve been craving lamb chops and I have been trying my best to stay away from starches for awhile so I decided to couple it up with some fried cabbage. I paid a visit to Wegman’s and found free range Organic lamb chops for about $12/pack. I like to marinate any meats I have for at least 30 minutes.  Season to your liking but I suggest adding fresh garlic, McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning, Olive Oil, Low Sodium Soy Sauce, Sea Salt, and any herbs, such as thyme. While you leave that marinating, now you can get started on the cabbage.

Heat a sautéed pan on medium-high with vegetable oil while you dice a sweet onion. After adding your diced onions, chop your cabbage and begin to sauté. Then you can begin to add the seasonings of your preference. I typically go for seasoning salt, red pepper flakes, pepper, and Cajun seasoning for a bit of a kick and a splash of apple cider vinegar….a small dab of sugar also doesn’t hurt. After you sauté for about 5 minutes, add some chicken broth and bring that to a boil. Cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes until tender, but don’t forget to stir occasionally. While your meat is marinating and your cabbage is tendering up, now is a great time for me to tidy up, take care of personal things, and feed the baby.

 

Once the cabbage is cooked, you may keep it covered and turn off the burner while you get ready to grill your lamb chops in a cast iron skillet set to medium high. Depending on the thickness or how you like your meat cooked, cook for a few minutes on each side.

 

Never be afraid to try new things! There are plenty of ideas and creations ready to be made in your kitchen on a weeknight in less than an hour! If you’re looking for more ideas of weeknight, weekend or party dishes, feel free to pay a visit to my Instagram account or more specifically hastag #simplydeliciosa

Now time to enjoy!